AVI to participate at Toronto conference celebrating Christian-Jewish allyship

PLUS: Upcoming events on combating media bias in Ottawa and Vancouver, joining our Common Roots high school program, and more!

Click the above conference lineup to learn more and register!

Allied Voices for Israel (AVI) is thrilled to share that our Founder and Executive Director Daniel Koren has been invited to speak at the Israel Conference – an upcoming educational conference in Toronto that empowers Christian and Jewish communities to walk together in truth, humility, and active, mutual allyship. 

The conference's mission is to equip churches and Jewish communities with a shared biblical understanding of Israel, address theological distortions, and foster meaningful relationships rooted in truth, trust, and mutual respect.

The conference will take place June 8th-9th in Toronto. Please make sure you register by June 1st. For security reasons, the location will be disclosed closer to the event.

To learn more, please click here.

Director of Campus Affairs Idaliah Snajdman (left) and AVI Founder & Executive Director Daniel Koren celebrating Israel's 78th with Israel Bonds Canada

We love a joint birthday celebration!

Last week, AVI staff and students celebrated Israel's 78th birthday, and Israel Bond Canada's 75th birthday, with the Consulate General of Israel in Toronto & Western Canada. Several of our friends and allies from various communities also joined in on the festivities.

To see more photos, please click here.

Click the above flyer to register for our upcoming Common Roots cohort; click the bottom graphic for a sneak peak of what the program offers!

Applications for our Common Roots Ambassadorship for high school students ARE NOW OPEN!

We offer a wide range of ways for students to get involved, from social media campaigns and writing op-eds, to creating events, volunteer opportunities, and so much more!⁠ 

• For Grades 8-12⁠

• Runs October to May⁠

• Open to students of all backgrounds & religions⁠

• Monthly webinars with awesome speakers⁠

To learn more and become a Common Roots Ambassador, please click here. 

Friday, May 15th (28th of Iyar in the Hebrew calebdar) was Israel commemorates the Memorial Day for the Ethiopian Jews Who Perished on their Way to Israel 

Long before the world saw the heroic airlifts of Operation Solomon (where 14,000 people were flown to safety in just 36 hours), there was a much lonelier, more dangerous journey.⁠

In the early 1980s, thousands of Ethiopian Jews fled famine and civil war, trekking hundreds of miles on foot to secret camps in Sudan. They were met there by Mossad agents operating a fake diving resort on the Red Sea (Operation Brothers) to smuggle them to Israel by sea and air.⁠

While many made it home, 4,000 heroes did not. They perished from exhaustion, hunger, and violence in the Sudanese desert with one word on their lips: Yerushalayim.⁠

Friday, May 15th (28th of Iyar in the Hebrew calendar, coinciding with Jerusalem Day), isn't just about a rescue. It’s about the agency and courage of an indigenous community who risked everything to reunite with the rest of the Jewish family.⁠

May the memory of the fallen be a blessing, and may their bravery never be forgotten. 

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Click the above graphic to read the full piece in the Somaliland Post

Yesterday, we celebrated Somaliland's 35th year of independence!

Since 1991, Somaliland has rebuilt itself without significant international aid, relying instead on resilience, unity, and grassroots efforts. Its democratic system—marked by successive elections and peaceful transfers of power—is a major global achievement. ⁠

Recently, our AVI staff and community members attended a vibrant event marking the 35th anniversary of Somaliland’s National Day, bringing together members of the Somaliland diaspora, international partners, and distinguished guests.⁠

The event placed strong emphasis on Somaliland’s pursuit of international recognition, its development progress, and its growing global partnerships.⁠

A piece published in the Somaliland Post covered the celebration, mentioning AVI and the other Jewish and Taiwanese allies in attendance. ⁠

To read Toronto: Somaliland’s 35th Independence Anniversary Draws Strong International Support, please click here.

Click the above flyer to register for our Vancouver event with Upstanders Canada, National Post editor-in-chief Rob Roberts, and journalist Dave Gordon

AVI is thrilled to share that we are collaborating with Upstanders Canada, an allyship organization that mobilizes Canadians to stand with Jewish people and Israel, on two live events in Vancouver and Ottawa!⁠

The events, titled Media Bias: How Media Has Mainstreamed Antisemitism ... And What to do About It⁠ will feature both Rob Roberts, editor-in-chief of the National Post, in conversation with journalist and writer Dave Gordon. ⁠

Our Vancouver stop on Sunday, May 24th at 2:30 p.m. will feature a contextualizing introduction by Janet Dirks, a retired CTV National News reporter who spent six months reporting from Jerusalem. Pat Johnson, President of Upstanders Canada, will welcome the audience and discuss the organization's work, and our AVI Student Ambassadors at the University of British Columbia will also take the stage to share their firsthand experiences on campus.

To register for our Vancouver program, please click here.

Click the above flyer to register for our Ottawa event with Upstanders Canada, National Post editor-in-chief Rob Roberts, and journalist Dave Gordon

Then, for our Ottawa event on Tuesday, May 26th at 7 p.m., Johnson will open the evening with a look at the vital advocacy work of Upstanders Canada. You will also hear directly from our AVI Student Ambassadors at the University of Ottawa about what they are experiencing on the ground.

We are incredibly proud to bring this program to the capital alongside Upstanders Canada and our wonderful friends at Hillel Ottawa.

To register for our Ottawa program, please click here.

Click the above graphics to register!

We are partnering with the Canadian Antisemitism Education Foundation (CAEF) on a webinar series celebrating Jewish Heritage Month and Asian Heritage Month – two cultures that share similar values and are serendipitously highlighted in May.

The events are also being sponsored by Doctors Against Racism and Antisemitism (DARA), Toronto Asian Parents Association (TAPA), and The Jewish Therapist Collective.

On Sunday, May 24th, Dr. Vera Schwarcz will lead a discussion with Dr. Elliott Malamet on Jewish moral thought and the ways it has been shaped through sustained engagement with Chinese civilization. They will address how to stay grounded and truthful when the world feels confusing, polarized, or morally unstable, and how long-standing traditions help people decide how to live, not just what to think.  

To register for Truth and the Way / Tao, please click here. 

On Sunday, May 31st, Dr.  Jack Daniel will draw from his book A Universe Made for Two, inviting a cross-cultural exploration of Genesis as a relational, dynamic act of creation, viewed through the complementary wisdom of Jewish tradition and ancient Chinese cosmology, with a particular focus on Traditional Chinese Medicine. 

This session will highlight how the Genesis creation narrative resonates with the Chinese understanding of yin and yang, qi, balance, and the generative cycles of nature. Rather than static creation ex nihilo, both traditions describe a universe brought into being through polarity, differentiation, rhythm, and relationship. 

To register for A Universe Made for Two: Genesis Through the Lens of Chinese Cosmology and Traditional Chinese Medicine, please click here.

On Sunday, June 14th, our very own Founder and Executive Director Daniel Koren will moderate a panel discussion featuring AVI Student Ambassador at the University of British Columbia Brandon Lu, Dr. Weidong Pei, and AVI friend Karen Woods of the Canadian Chinese Political Affairs Committee (CCPAC). 

Each panelist will relay their personal story of connecting wth the Jewish community and fighting antisemitism, followed by a Q&A with the audience.

To register for Why I Stand with the Jews and Israel: Chinese Canadian perspectives, please click here.